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'''The JA Ranch,''' founded jointly by John George Adair (1823-1885) and Charles Goodnight (1836-1929), is the oldest privately owned [[cattle]] ranch in the Palo Duro Canyon section of the Texas Panhandle southeast of [[Amarillo]], [[Texas]]. At its peak size in 1883, the JA, still managed by descendants of the Adair family, encompassed some 1,335,000acres of land in six counties and a herd of 100,000 cattle.  The name "JA" is derived from the initials of John Adair, a [[business]]man, originally from  [[Ireland]]. Goodnight managed and expanded the ranch, while Adair provided the working capital. Upon Adair's death, his wife, the former Cornelia Wadsworth Ritchie, took over Adair's interest in the JA. In 1888, Goodnight left the arrangement to establish his own ranch and in time ventured into other [[business]] activities as well. The ranch was added in 1966 to the National Register of Historic Places for Armstrong County.<ref>{{cite web|title=JA Ranch|url=http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/viewform.asp?atlas_num=2066000807&site_name=J+A+Ranch&class=2001|publisher=Texas Historical Commission|accessdate=21 November 2011}}</ref>​

'''The JA Ranch,''' founded jointly by John George Adair (1823-1885) and Charles Goodnight (1836-1929), is the oldest privately owned [[cattle]] ranch in the Palo Duro Canyon section of the Texas Panhandle southeast of [[Amarillo]], [[Texas]]. At its peak size in 1883, the JA, still managed by descendants of the Adair family, encompassed some 1,335,000acres of land in six counties and a herd of 100,000 cattle.  The name "JA" is derived from the initials for John Adair, a [[business]]man, originally from  [[Ireland]]. Goodnight managed and expanded the ranch, while Adair provided the working capital. Upon Adair's death, his wife, the former Cornelia Wadsworth Ritchie, took over Adair's interest in the JA. In 1888, Goodnight left the arrangement to establish his own ranch and in time ventured into other [[business]] activities as well. The ranch was added in 1966 to the National Register of Historic Places for Armstrong County.<ref>{{cite web|title=JA Ranch|url=http://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/viewform.asp?atlas_num=2066000807&site_name=J+A+Ranch&class=2001|publisher=Texas Historical Commission|accessdate=21 November 2011}}</ref>​

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==Cornelia Adair==

==Cornelia Adair==

Goodnight outfitted his men and cattle for the winter and returned to Colorado to bring his first wife, the former Mary Ann “Molly” Dyer, a teacher from Weatherford in Parker County west of [[Fort Worth]], to their new homestead. The Goodnights, the Adairs, and four [[cowboy]]s, arrived at the Old Home Ranch with breeding bulls and ranching provisions. On June 18, 1877, Goodnight and Adair inked their five-year partnership, which stipulated that Adair would supply the capital and the "JA" initials, and Goodnight would provide the daily management of affairs.<ref>[http://www.rra.dst.tx.us/c_t/people/Charles_GOODNIGHT.cfm]</ref>  The agreement called for Adair to receive two-thirds of the property and profits. Goodnight would receive the other one-third plus an annual salary of $2,500. Goodnight borrowed his third of the investment from Adair at 10 percent interest. The ranch began with a meager 1,500 cattle on 2,500 acres.<ref name=hbook/>​

Goodnight outfitted his men and cattle for the winter and returned to Colorado to bring his first wife, the former Mary Ann “Molly” Dyer, a teacher from Weatherford in Parker County west of [[Fort Worth]], to their new homestead. The Goodnights, the Adairs, and four [[cowboy]]s, arrived at the Old Home Ranch with breeding bulls and ranching provisions. On June 18, 1877, Goodnight and Adair inked their five-year partnership, which stipulated that Adair would supply the capital and the "JA" initials, and Goodnight would provide the daily management of affairs.<ref>[http://www.rra.dst.tx.us/c_t/people/Charles_GOODNIGHT.cfm]</ref>  The agreement called for Adair to receive two-thirds of the property and profits. Goodnight would receive the other one-third plus an annual salary of $2,500. Goodnight borrowed his third of the investment from Adair at 10 percent interest. The ranch began with a meager 1,500 cattle on 2,500 acres.<ref name=hbook/>​

==Expanding the ranch==​

==Expanding the ranch==

Goodnight then purchased twelve thousand acres from Jot Gunter and William B. Munson, Sr., for seventy-five cents per acre. In the next two years, he continued buying premium pieces of property in a peculiar arrangement around a 75-mile stretch of the Palo Duro, careful to select the best grazing and watered land. In 1878, Goodnight drove the first JA trail herd, led by his ox, Old Blue, north to Dodge City in western [[Kansas]], the nearest railhead. In 1879, he moved the ranch headquarter to the foot of the Caprock, some twenty-five miles east of the Home Ranch. He built a four-room house of cedar logs and supervised construction of a bunkhouse, a bookkeeper's residence, a wagon boss's house, a [[blacksmith]] shop, a wagonyard, and a [[milk]] and meat cooling shed. Later, the two-story, nineteen-room main house was added. The old Home Ranch house was then used as a line camp until it burned on [[Christmas]] Eve 1904, according to the [[historian]] and archivist H. Allen Anderson of [[Texas Tech University]] at [[Lubbock]] in an article in ''The Handbook of Texas''.<ref name=hbook/>​

Goodnight then purchased twelve thousand acres from Jot Gunter and William B. Munson, Sr., for seventy-five cents per acre. In the next two years, he continued buying premium pieces of property in a peculiar arrangement around a 75-mile stretch of the Palo Duro, careful to select the best grazing and watered land. In 1878, Goodnight drove the first JA trail herd, led by his ox, Old Blue, north to Dodge City in western [[Kansas]], the nearest railhead. In 1879, he moved the ranch headquarter to the foot of the Caprock, some twenty-five miles east of the Home Ranch. He built a four-room house of cedar logs and supervised construction of a bunkhouse, a bookkeeper's residence, a wagon boss's house, a [[blacksmith]] shop, a wagonyard, and a [[milk]] and meat cooling shed. Later, the two-story, nineteen-room main house was added. The old Home Ranch house was then used as a line camp until it burned on [[Christmas]] Eve 1904, according to the [[historian]] and archivist H. Allen Anderson of [[Texas Tech University]] at [[Lubbock]] in an article in ''The Handbook of Texas''.<ref name=hbook/>​